Reversible rotary motor (steam)



L. B. HUBBARD REVERSIBLE ROTARY MOTOR (STEAM) Nov. 24,1925

Filed July 16, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T v E R\ m 6 A J Qv. B J W\ W \WV?Q. V///// v// /4 v 1 5 w a Ww L. B. HUBBARD Nov. 24, 1925,

REVERSIBLE ROTARY MOTOR (STEAM) Filed July 16. 1923 2 SheetsShee.t 2

III

X Z %NVENTOR. BY

ATTORNEYS.

Patented N09. 24, 1925.

" UNI-TED sTATEs PATENT oFFieE.

LLOYD B. HUBBARD, or WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS. ASSIGNOR 'rommRARn REvR smLEROTARY MOTOR CORPORATION, or NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION-OF mimeWARE.

REVERSIBLE mum moron (swam).

Application filed Jl'u1y-16, 1923.' Serial No. 651,754.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LLoYn B. HUBBA D,

. a citizen of the United States, residing at cylinders in which thereare reciprocating pistons which carry rollers reacting on'an oval trackor an eccentric track to'rotate v tially on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

the rotor, and has for an object to provide a motor of this type inwhichthe torque is substantially constant throughout the entirerevolution of the rotor.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an engine in which theusual cranks, connecting rods, gears, eccentrics-and connected parts areeliminated so the engine is extremely simple in construction requiring aminimum number of parts, and is lightand compact. 7

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved controlvalve and means for automatically retaining this valve tight so that itwill not leak, but which will also yield to allow for expansion andcontraction incident to the changes in temperature. during the operationof'themotor.

It is -a further object to so arrange this valve that the tightness ofits fit with the rotating element will vary with the pressure of thefluid used in driving'the motor, so that the greater the pressure of thedriving fluid the greater will be the pressure between the valve and therotating element.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a constructionfor this type of motor which may be more easily and efficientlylubricated, and with the use of a minimum amount of oil.

It is also an obj ectof the invention to provide a construction in whichthere is practically no loss ofpower due-to yvire drawing through theinlet valvewhen this valve is opened for the admission of the motivefluid, and it is a further object 9f the invention to provide an engineand valve which will allow quick and easy reversal of the engine by asimple movement of a single element.

\Vith "the foregoing andother objects in view I have devised theconstruction lllllS n), of which.

trated in the accompanying drawing, in .which Fig. 1 1s a transversevertical section through the motor at-substantially-the center linethereof as Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through one of the cylinders, thecontrol valve and a portion of another cylinder substantially on line2-2 of Figs. 1 and 4.

Fig.'3is a similar section substantially on line 33=of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section view substans indicated in line 1-1 ofFig. 5 is an end View of the control valve looking from the right ofFig. 3. s

Fig. 6 is a transverse section of a portion of the casing and a cylindershowing a slightly different construction.

Fig. 7 is a transverse section substantially on line 7-7 of Fig. 6, and

Fig. Sis an end view in Figs. 6 and 7.

The engine comprises a stator, preferably made of a plurality ofsections, there being two sections 10 and 11 which are substantiallyT-shaped in cross section, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, and which togetherform an oval shaped guide track 12 upon which the rollers 13 carried bythe reciprocating pistons 14 run. The sections 10 and 11 are providedwith supporting lugs or brackets 15 by which the casing may be mountedon suitable supports, as shown at 16, by suitable means, such as screws20. The plates 18 and 19 are provided with bearings for .the rotor,preferabl'y' bushings 21 in which the outwardly projecting cylindricalbearings 22 and 23 on the rotor 24 are mounted to rotate.

of the cylinder shown The rotor comprises a plurality of cylin-' ders25radially disposed about theaxis of rotation, and I prefer to use'six ofthese cylinders, although a larger or smaller number may be employed ifdesired. Inthe embodiment illustrated I have shown six cylinders, andthese cylinders are slotted at their outer ends, as shown at 26, tostraddle the track 12 throughout a portion of the rev-' olution toassist in keeping the elements in alignment; Mounted to reciprocate inthe cylinders are pistons ldwhich are preferably hollow but closed attheir inner ends 27, and

are provided adjacent this closed inner end with circumferential grooves28 for resilient or other packing rings tomakc a tight fit as is thecommon construction. At their outer ends each piston is provided with aroller 13 which runs on the track 12, andislmounted with ball-bearings29 to reduce the friction as far as possible. To support this roller atransverse sleeve 30 is mounted adjacent the outer end of the piston ona pin 31 which has a head 32 at one end and a-nut or washer 33 securedthereto at the other end, the head and nut or washer being out-side thecylinder with the pin extending through slot EH- in the cylinder walls.and rollers 35 are preferably mounted on this pin in the slots to.reduce the friction as the piston reciprocates.

At the center of the rotor is a tapered longitudinally extending bearingopening in which is mounted a correspondingly tapered valve member 36.This valve member has longitudinally extending passages 37 and 38forming inlet and exhaust passages respectively for the motive fluid,such as steamor air, and which passages ext-end laterally through thesides of the valve member. The rotor is provided with a passage 39leading from the bearing opening for the valve member tothe inner end ofeach cylinder, and this preferably extends throughout the entire widthof the cylinder. and longitudinally of the valve member so that a largefluid passage may be secured. The inlet and exhaust passages areconnected to inlet and exhaust pi es for conducting the fluid to thevalve rom any suitable source of supply as a boiler, and for conductingthe exhaust to any suitable point of discharge. It will be noted thatthe inlet and exhaust passages 37 and 38 are located in a single valvemember, the inlet passage being preferably in the center extendinglongitudinally thereof, and there being two exhaust passages located onopposite sides of this v inlet passage but leading to a single outletopening 40. This arrangementprovides a simpler construction and alsogreatly facilitates reversing the engine.

, For thispurpose the valve member is provided outside the stator with aflange 41 which is provided witha pair of slots 42 arranged on the areof a circle through which studs 43 extend, these studs having threadedengagement with the hub of the plate 18, and are rovided with suitablenuts 44 for retaining the valve member against withdrawal from therotor. A handle 45 is secured to this flange and car- "ries a suitablespring pressed latch 46 adapted to engage notches in the hub .to

retain the valve in different desired positions. By means of this handlethe valve elementl may be rotated about itsaxis in either direction tovary the position of the inlet and exhaust openings to vary the cutoifand exhaust, and also for reversing the engine in a manner that willlater be described.

At the inner end ofthe valve member the rotor is provided with acylindrical bore 47, in which there is a piston 48 which is connected tothe inner end of the valve element 36 by any suitable means, as a screw49, and this piston preferably has in its periphery suitable rooves 50for packing to maintain a tight t with' the walls of the cylinder 47.Leading from the inner side of this piston to the inlet passage 37 is a,small passage til-to conduct fluid pressure I to the innerflsid'e ofthis piston.

This piston is made sufliciently larger than the inner end of the valvemember so that the pressure of the steam or other motive fluid acting onthis istonwill tend to draw the valve member inwardly and retain itstapered outer wall in close engagement with the tapered bearing openingin the rotor, and will thus preven-tleakage of fluid through the bearingbetween these twoelements. It will be noted that the pull of this piston48 on the valve member will vary with the pressure of the motive fluid,so that the greater pressure of the motive fluid the tighter will the,valve member be held against the bearing. This is as it should be toprevent leakage of the motive fluid. It also prevents excessive pressurebetween the elements and thus excessive and unnecessary wear when thefluid pressure is low. The passage or opening 51 is not necessary,because if desired the tapered bearing between the inlet passages 39 andthe cylinder 47 may be made sufliciently loose to allow the fluid toleak into this cylinder to act on the-piston 48. A discharge passage 52is preferably provided leadingfrom this cylinder beyond the piston toallow exit of steam or water which may leak past the piston 48 and toprevent pressure building up on this side of the piston. It isespecially to be noted that as the cylinder '47 is in the rotor thefluid pressure in this cylinder has no ten-. dency to push the rotorlaterally or longitudinally of its-axis of rotation. Thus there is noside thrust on the'rotor and no thrustbearing is required.

Secured to the'rotor 24 on the opposite side of the'inlet and exhaustpipes is a shaft which inay .be connected to any suitable driving means.such as a pulley or gear, not shown, and it isconnected to the rotor byany suitable means such as bolts 54. The hub of the plate 19 ispreferably "provided with a groove 55 about the flange of the shaft-t0hold a suitable packing to prevent leakage of oil or motive fluid.

To facilitate oiling, oil grooves 56 are provided in bushings 21 and oilpassages 57 are provided leading through the hubs of trol valve.

the plates 18 and 19 to these grooves from the inner walls of theseplates and above the bearings, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and similaroutlet passages 58 are) provided leading from the bottom of thesebearings to the inner walls of the easingbelow these bearings. Thereis-also proi less oil. The oil is admitted with the motive and thebushings 21.

fluid through the central valve member and it of course lubricates. thismember between the valve and the rotor. It also passes into thecylinders with the motive fluid and is carried by the action of thepistons and centrifugal force to the outer ends of the cylinders whereitlubricates the bearings for the rollers 13, both in the piston and onthe track, and also lubricates the bearings for the roller and the slots34 The oil is then thrown out against the casing and that on the upperhalf flows down the inner surfaces of plates 18 and 19 where some of itis carried by the passages 57. to'the bearings If desired, grooves, ribsor similar collecting and guiding means may beprovided on the innersurfaces of plates 18 and'19ytoconduct the oil to the passages 57..After passing through these bearings it runs out through the passages58 and then runs down on the surfaces of the lates 18 and 19 through thelower part of t e casing from which itris conducted by the pipe 59 Whenthe engine is running the rollers 13 are normally held in engagementwith the track 12 by fluid pressure in the cylinders and centrifugalaction, but when the engine is stopped, unless some means is providedfor retaining these rollers in contact with the track, the upper pistonswill drop inwardly to thecenter of the rotor. One means of preventingthis is the coiled springs 60, which are placed about each cyl- 1 inderand hear at their opposite ends in rings 62. The rings 62 bear againstthe pins 31 and thus tend topush the piston outwardlfi. There ispractically no\ loss of powert rough the use of these springs as inopera tion when the piston moves outwardly the force of the, springassists in rotating the rotor and practically balances the forcerequired to compress the springs when thepistons are moving inwardly.

Another way of preventing the pistons dro ping inwardly when the rotoris at rest 's s own in'Figs. .6, 7 and 8, in \which the s 63 are carriedby the piston on'opposite .es of the track 12 beyond the roller, and

so prevent the piston moving inwardly. If preferred rollers these lugs.

ing counterclock-wise as viewed in Fig. 1

may be: substituted for In operation, assuming the rotor is movit willbe apparent that immediately a pas- I sage 39 passes by the wall 64between the inlet and exhaust passages of the valve member, motive fluidwill be admitted to the cylinder, and in the present instance to twodiametrically opposite cylinders. The track 12, however, is preferablynot a. true ellipse but is what I call a two'to one curve, that is, in

shaping this track the gears for feeding the cutting tool in and outhave a ratio 'of two to one with the gear driving the chuck whichcarries the track, so that for a single rotation of the track the toolis moved inwardly and outwardly twice. This gives the track a shapesubstantially as shown in Fig. 1 in which the curvature graduallyincreases from the centers of the upper and lower sides to the oppositeends, and the centers of the upper and lower sides, as shown at65, aresubstantially flat for a short distance. It is while the rollers 13 areon this substantially 'flatportion that the passages 39 areopened forthe inlet ofmotive fluid. It will,'therefore,bea

parent that the inlet valves are opened whi e l the piston is moving buta very short dis tance, and therefore, the cylinder is filled withmotive fluid before the piston has covered any material portion of itsstrote'. words the inlet valve iswide open before the piston has anymaterial movement and there is practically no loss of power through wiredrawing of the motive fluid as it passes through the inlet, as is oftenthe case in reciprocating en ines in which there is not sufliciently ra1d opening of the'inlet valve. As the piston is pushed outwardly underthe action of the. fluid pressure, the reaction of the rollers 13 on thetrack 12 from point 6) to point 66 will tend to rotate the rotor, butthere will be two diametrically opposite pistons, indicated at A,operating exactly the same. As the roller runs along the track 12 andapproaches the point 6.6, as the curve varies in approaching this pointthe lateral constant. I The turningefl'ort of thecylin- I der as itleaves the substantially fiat portion 6510f the track is alsoless thanthe maximum, but this is at a time when the cylinder 0 is a proachingthe point .66, and the turning e orts of the two cylinders 'A and C are;practically the same as'that of the one cyl- In other inder at the pointof maximum turning effort. Thus the torque is practically uniformthroughout the entire revolution. Immediately after the rollers pass thepoint 66 the passages 39 come into communication with the exhaustpassage 38 allowing the steam from the cylinder to exhaust, and thepistons are driven inwardly under the ac- -ordinary reciprocatingengine, and thus the loss of heat energy by conduction through thecylinder wall is much less than it is with the ordinary, reciprocatingengine- ,In the, operation there is a steam control valve in the steampipe, not shown, for cutting off the steamsupply or allowing passage ofsteam to, the engine at will. If

when the engine is running the steam supply is cut oil the momentum ofthe rotor causes the pistons to operate as pumps tending to create avacuum in the cylinders and the inlet passages 37. To prevent formationof this vacuum I provide in the steam pipe between the steam controlvalve and the valve member 36- a non-return valve 67 connected with theatmosphere but arranged to open inwardly under atmospheric pressure andallow air to "enter to prevent formation of this vacuum. When the engineis run ning this valve will automatically close to prevent the escape ofmotive fluid.

The point of opening of the inlet and exhaust valves may be varied asdesired by shifting the valve member 36 about its axis, and it will beapparent that by shifting it through an angle of approximately degreesfrom theposition shown in Fig. 1 the inlet passage 37 will be incommunication with-the passages 39 when the pistons are on the oppositesides of the vertical center line. or in other words thc'rotor willrotate clock-wise as viewed in Fig. 1. n Thus all that is necessary toreverse'this engine is to swing the valve member 36 through an angle ofapproximately 90 degrees. This may he done without any ill effects evenwhen the engine is running. This feature is otparticular advantage incertain kinds of work. as in drilling oil wells and so forth. .In thistype of work it is necessary to reverse the engine often. The advantageot'- the simple reversing means of the present device will he obvious.Not only may the engine be reversed by simply shifting a single element,the valve member 36, but this member may be shifted to the reversingposition when the engine is running without any ill elle'cts. As thetorque on this engine is substantially uniform throughout an entirerevolution it may be run at low s eed under a comparatively heavy load,and t ere tions in temperature incident to the operadescription that theengine is very simple in construction, and that the construction'ot the70 control valve prevents leakage of motive fluid, automaticallycompensates for wear, and also automatically compensates for expansionand contraction because .of varia- 7 5 tion of the motor, and thereforethe valve will not be too tight at times when the temperature is high ortoo loose at other times when the temperature is low. Another advantageof this type of valve in combination with the piston 48 to hold thevalve on its seat through the action of the motive fluid pressure, isthat when the engine is stopped there. is no pressure on piston 48 andso there is no means tending to force the valve member 36 against itsseat. Thus as the elements cool the contraction is easily compensatedfor. As the valve is not forced tightly against its seat at this time itwill not bind and become set by expansion of the valve member when steamis passed through the member upon starting the engine again. It willfurther be apparent that the engine may be quickly and easily reversed,and that there is no complicated valve mechanism for operating thecontrol valves, the usual cranks, connecting rods, gears, eccentrics andconnecting elements being eliminated. If desired the valves may be sopositioned as to admit steam to the cylinders throughout a great portionof the piston stroke and thus secure a heavy torque in starting. orunder abnormal load. As the rotor is completely balanced there will bepractically no vibration in operation.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. A motor comprising a rotor having. a plurality of radially disposedcylinders, reciprocating pistons insaid cylinders, roll- 'crs carried bysaid pistons, a stator having a track reacting with said rollers torotate the rotor as the pistons are reciprocated. said rotor beingprovided with a central. transverse, tapered bearing opening and fluidpassages leading from said opening to the cylinders, a stationarytapered tubular valve member in said opening having lateral inlet andexhaust openings adapted to register with said fluid passages". a pistonsecured to the inner end ofsaid valve member, and means whereby fluidpressure from the supply passage may be communicated to the piston toretain the valve member in said opening. 1 I x I 2. .A motor comprisinga rotor having a plurality of radially disposed cylinders, re-'ciprocating pistons in said'cylinders, rollers carried by said pistons,a stator having a track reacting with said rollers to rota e the 3cylinder rotor as the pistons are reciprocate'd, said rotor beingprovidedwith a central, trans verse, tapered bearing opening and fluidpassages leading from said opening to the cylinders, a stationarytapered tubular valve member in said opening having lateral inlet andexhaust openings adapted to register with said fluid passages, saidrotor being provided with a cylinder at the smaller end of said valvemember, a piston in said and secured to said valve member, and meansforming communication between the inner endof said cylinder and saidfluid inlet passage. I I i 3. Amotor comprising arotor having aplurality of radially disposed cylinders, re-

. ciprocating pistons; in said cylinders, rollers carried by saidpistons, a stator having a track reacting with said rollers to rotatethe rotor asthe pistons are reciprocated, said rotor being provided witha central, transverse, tapered bearing opening and fluid passagesleading from said opening'to the cylinders, a stationary taperedtubularvalve member in said opening having lateral inlet and exhaustopenmgs adapted to register with said fluid passages, said rotor beingprovided with a. transversely extending cylinder, a piston in saidcylinder and connected with said valve member, and means whereby fluidpressure may be applied to said piston to hold the valve member insaidbearing opening.

4-- A motor comprising a rotor having a plurality of'radially disposedcylinders, reciprocating pistons in said cylinders, rollers carried bysaid pistons, a stator having a track reacting with said rollers torotate the rotor as the pistons are reciprocated and also having platesto enclose the rotor on opposite sides of the track, said rotor beingprovided with a central transverse bearing opening and fluid passagesleading from said opening to the cylinders, a stationary tubular' valvemember in said bearing opening provided with lateralinlet and exhaustopenings adapted to register with said fluid passages, bearings in theside plates, bearings carried by the rotor in the bearings in theplates, said lates being provided with oil passages leading from theirinner surfaces to said bearings.

5. A motor comprising. a rotor having a,

large end of the valve and the actuation of the against the rotorplurality of radially disposed cylinders, reciprocating pistons in saidcylinders, rollers carried by said pistons, a stator having a trackreacting with said rollers to rotate the rotor as the pistons arereciprocated, said rotor being provided with a central, transverse,tapered bearing opening and fluid passages leading from said opening tothe cylinders, a stationary taperedtubular valve member in said openinghaving lateral inlet and exhaust openings adated .to register withsaidffluid passages, a flimge carried by said valve member outside thecasing provided with one or more studs extending through said slotsprovided with securing means, and means for shifting the valve memberabout its axis." i v 6. A motor including a stator, a valve supportedtherebyand taperedtoward one end, means for holding the valve againstrotation, means for admitting steam to the delivering it radiallytherefrom, a rotor mounted on the Valve and having radial cylinders, anequalizing piston connected to the small end of the valve and lapping aportion of therrotor, means for directing steam from the valve againstthe equalizing piston to maintain a tight bearing between the valve and'the rotor, pistons within the cylinders, and means within the statorcooperating with the pistons. for rotating" the rotor during pistons.

7. A motor including a stator, atapered valve carried thereby having asteam inlet at its large end provided with fluid pas-f sages fordirecting pressure radially from the valve, there being an exhaustpassage and arcuate' slots,

extending inwardly from the periphery of the valve'and opening throughthe largeend thereof, a rotor on-the valve having a recess the recess,

means for directing pressure from the steam inlet against said piston toreact and maintain a tight hearing between'the rotor and the valve,cyl-. inders radiating from the rotor, pistons therein, and cooperatingmeans upon the pistons and stator for rotatin'g'the rotor by thereciprocation of the'pistons,

In testimony whereof I aflix my'si ature.

' LLOYD B. HUBB D'.

